Pittsburgh, PA – Pittsburgh Penguins backup goaltender Tomas Vokoun will be out indefinitely after undergoing a procedure to clear up a blood clot in his pelvis.
Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
"The most important thing right now is Tomas' health and well-being," Penguins GM Ray Shero said. "The clot was dissolved by the procedure, and the doctors tell us that he will remain in the hospital for several days. We will continue to monitor his progress after that."
The 37-year-old native of the Czech Republic was 13-4-0 with a 2.45 goals- against average and three shutouts last season, going 6-5 with a 2.10 GAA during the postseason, which ended in a four-game sweep to the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference finals.
Pittsburgh has one other goaltender on its roster besides starter Marc-Andre Fleury -- Jeff Zatkoff -- while Eric Hartzell had been assigned to Wilkes- Barre/Scranton of the AHL.
Vokoun also missed the end of the 2005-06 season and the entire postseason, when he was the starter in Nashville, due to blood clots in his abdomen.
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